What an entertaining show on the New Year's Eve when FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008 comes to us live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Wednesday, December 31, 2008.

Here are the official results for the event:

• Opening Fight: K-1 KOSHIEN Reserve Fight/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: Taishi Hiratsuka (Japan/Chubu Area 3rd Place) def. Daizo Sasaki (Japan/Kanto Area 2nd Place) by KO at 1:00 of Round 2

• Fight #1: DREAM Rules: MINOWAMAN (Japan) def. Errol Zimmerman (Suriname/Golden Glory) by submission (ankle hold) at 1:01 of Round 1

• Fight #2: K-1 KOSHIEN Semifinal/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: Koya Urabe (Japan/Kanto Area 1st Place) def. Ryuya Kusakabe (Japan/Chubu Area 1st Place) by TKO at 2:29 of Round 3

• Fight #3: K-1 KOSHIEN Semifinal/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: HIROYA (Japan) def. Shota Shimada (Japan) by unanimous decision

• Fight #4: K-1 Rules: Artur Kyshenko (Ukraine/Captain Odessa) def. Yoshihiro Sato (Japan/FULLCAST/Nagoya JK Factory) by split decision

• Fight #5: DREAM Rules: Daisuke Nakamura (Japan/U-FILE CAMP.com) def. Hideo Tokoro (Japan/Team ZST) by submission (armbar) at 2:43 of Round 1

• Fight #6: DREAM Rules: Andy Ologun (Nigeria/Team Ologun) def. Yukio Sakaguchi (Japan/Sakaguchi Dojo Yokohama) by KO at 3:52 of Round 1

• Fight #7: K-1 KOSHIEN Final/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: HIROYA (Japan) def. Koya Urabe (Japan/Kanto Area 1st Place) by unanimous decision

• Fight #8: DREAM Rules: Bob Sapp (USA/Team Beast) def. Kinniku Mantaro by TKO at 5:22 of Round 1

• Fight #9: DREAM Rules: Semmy Schilt (Holland/Seido Kaikan) def. Mighty Mo (USA) by submission (triangle choke) at 5:31 of Round 1

• Fight #10: DREAM Rules: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Japan/Mach Dojo) def. Katsuyori Shibata (Japan/ARMS) by TKO at 7:01 of Round 1

• Fight #11: K-1 Rules: Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan/T-BLOOD) def. Kozo Takeda (Japan/Jiseikan) by KO at 2:47 of Round 1

• Fight #12: K-1 Rules: Alistair Overeem (Holland/Golden Glory) def. Badr Hari (Morocco/Show Time) by KO at 2:02 of Round 1

• Fight #13: DREAM Rules: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia/Cro Cop Squad) def. Choi Hong-man (Republic of Korea) by KO at 6:32 of Round 1

• Fight #14: K-1 Rules: Gegard Mousasi (Holland/Red Devil International) def. Musashi (Japan/Seido Kaikan) by KO at 2:32 of Round 1

• Fight #15: DREAM Rules: Melvin Manhoef (Holland/Show Time) def. Mark Hunt (New Zealand/Oceania Super Fighter Gym) by KO at 0:18 of Round 1

• Fight #16: DREAM Rules: Shinya Aoki (Japan/Paraestra Tokyo) def. Eddie Alvarez (USA/Fight Factory) by submission (heel hold) at 1:32 of Round 1

• Fight #17: DREAM Rules: Joachim Hansen (Norway/Frontline Academy) vs. Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante (Brazil/American Top Team) was canceled*

• Fight #18: DREAM Rules: Kiyoshi Tamura (Japan/U-FILE CAMP.com) def. Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan/Laughter7) by unanimous decision

*Hansen didn't pass a pre-fight medical examination, reportedly due to a recent hospitalization for a head injury.

The K-1 Dynamite!! bout on New Year's Eve between Shinya Aoki (picture) and Eddie Alvarez will determine the first ever World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Lightweight Champion.

With just a few days to go before the show, it's been made official by press release that WAMMA will recognize the winner of the bout between Aoki and Alvarez as their lightweight champion. The press release also states that the winner will not receive the physical belt at the event, but it will be presented to them in a ceremony at a later date.

"New Year's Eve is rich in both history and tradition for combat sports in Japan," WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch said. "FEG officials have put together an amazing night of fights and WAMMA is looking forward to recognizing the winner of the Aoki versus Alvarez fight as our first ever lightweight champion."

Aoki and Alvarez would have met in the finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix 2008, but Alvarez sustained an eye injury in his win earlier that night against Tatsuya Kawajiri. This brought in Joachim Hansen, who won the reserve bout, to step in for Alvarez. Hansen then defeated Aoki by TKO to become the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.

In the WAMMA rankings, Aoki is ranked number two in the lightweight division while Alvarez is ranked number three. UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn is ranked number one.

"WAMMA's board of directors supports the WAMMA pollsters in their recognition of BJ Penn as the number one rated lightweight fighter in the world," Lynch said. "However, Penn has not fought since May 24 and isn't scheduled to compete again until January 31. His January 31 fight will be contested at welterweight against Georges St. Pierre for the UFC's 170-pound crown. If Penn wins, UFC President Dana White has already stated that Penn's next fight will be a welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves. Needless to say, Penn's future as a regular competitor in the lightweight division is uncertain."

Lynch continued by saying that if Penn's returns to lightweight, WAMMA would approach the UFC to facilitate a fight between Penn and the WAMMA Lightweight Champion. However, that's only wishful thinking as the UFC has strongly opposed cooperating with WAMMA.

WAMMA is an independent sanctioning organization for mixed martial arts, with their own fighter rankings and championships. Earlier this year, Fedor Emelianenko became the first and only current WAMMA titleholder when he submitted Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds at Affliction: Banned. Fedor holds the WAMMA heavyweight title.

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 fight card is perhaps the most anticipated of the year, featuring two title bouts and a third grudge match between MMA superstars Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

In one of the title bouts, Michigan State University's own former wrestling star Rashad Evans will go for the light heavyweight title against defending champion Forrest Griffin.

The other title bout features Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Frank Mir for the interim heavyweight title and the right to fight Brock Lesnar for the true heavyweight title down the line.

Here are the results for the event which took place at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on last Saturday, December 27, 2008:

• "Sugar" Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin by TKO at 2:46 of Round 3

• Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira by TKO at 1:54 of Round 2

• CB "The Doberman" Dollaway def. Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio by TKO at 3:01 of Round 1

• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva by KO at 3:21 of Round 1

• Cheick Kongo def. Mostapha Al Turk by TKO at 4:37 of Round 1

• Yushin "Thunder" Okami def. Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister by unanimous decision

• Antoni Hardonk def. Mike "The Juggernaut" Wessel by TKO at 2:09 of Round 2

• Matt "The Hammer" Hamill def. Reese Andy by TKO at 2:19 of Round 2

• "Bad" Brad Blackburn def. Ryo "Piranha" Chonan by unanimous decision

• Pat "HD" Barry def. Dan "The Viking" Evensen by TKO at 2:36 of Round 1

UFC 92 will come to us live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 27, 2008. It will be called "The Ultimate 2008". Namely, that coming in it looks like the best MMA card of the year.

This event is the ultimate event of the year with the original Ultimate Fighter Forrest Griffin defending his title against "Sugar" Rashad Evans. Then the Ultimate Fighter coaches face off as Interim World Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira takes on former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Plus, two of the hardest hitting light heavyweight fighters go toe-to-toe when Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva battles former Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Here is the fight card for the event:

• Forrest Griffin vs "Sugar" Rashad Evans

• Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira vs Frank Mir

• CB "The Doberman" Dollaway vs Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio

• Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

• Cheick Kongo vs Mostapha Al Turk

• Yushin "Thunder" Okami vs Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister

• Antoni Hardonk vs Mike "The Juggernaut" Wessel

• Matt "The Hammer" Hamill vs Reese Andy

• Ryo "Piranha" Chonan vs "Bad" Brad Blackburn

• Dan "The Viking" Evensen vs Pat "HD" Barry

Georges St-Pierre is to MMA like Sidney Crosby is to hockey or Kobe Bryant is to basketball. He is just on a whole different level.

Georges St-Pierre winning Sportnet's 2008 Athlete of the Year is not only an incredible achievement for the sport of MMA, but for GSP himself; just another chapter in what will surely be a UFC Hall of Fame career.

I remember Georges' debut and thinking to myself how impressive he was against UFC veteran Ivan Mengivar. He then proceeded to defeat one of my training partners at the time, Justin Bruckmann to win his first title, in what was only his second pro MMA bout. After his brutal victory over Pride veteran Travis Galbraith in his third fight, it was his fourth pro fight when it hit me; GSP was something truly special and I was witnessing something legendary unfold right before my eyes.

When GSP was originally matched up against Thomas 'The Wildman' Denny, I vividly recall voting down this match-up as I thought Georges was over-matched. Denny was 10-9 and had fought some big names coming into this bout. He had quite the name for himself and I just felt Georges wasn't ready for such a big challenge so early on in his career. How wrong I was.

Georges proceeded to dismantle Denny and crush the veteran en route to a TKO victory in the second round. The turning point for me was GSP's double leg entry in the first round as well as all of his takedowns and ground control. I thought to myself "this guy is on another level". He was simply too much for a fighter I had high regards for. It was like Georges was the veteran and Denny was the younger fighter. It not only opened my eyes to how good GSP was but it was a defining moment in my own MMA career as I was watching the birth of a legend less than five feet from where I was sitting.

Georges continued to develop his game and just got better and better. It wasn't like he was making baby steps in his development; he was making drastic improvements to his striking game, his takedown and throws, as well as his positional control on the ground. He would take control of the fight and never let his opponent catch up. Georges would start in fifth gear and never ease off the gas pedal.

Georges has set the standard for what 'rhythm' is in an MMA fight. His pace is relentless and often gets the better of his opponents as they just cannot keep up. They eventually begin to slow down giving Georges the opening he uses to finish the fight. Whether it's a left high kick to the head, or a left hook to set up a takedown, he is ruthless until he gets what he wants in the fight. As it stands right now, he is part of a select group of MMA fighters that are the gold standard and what the future of MMA will look like.

I often get asked to debate the merits of MMA fighters and whether or not they are true athletes. In all of my arguments, I bring up GSP. Here's a guy who trains with pro level boxers, not just your average recreational athlete at a boxing gym. He trains with Canada's Wrestling Team, not the local high school or college team. He travels to Brazil to work on his Jiu-Jitsu game; in essence, he is always training and sparring with world class, single discipline athletes. He does all of this because he is a multi-combat sport athlete and in order to achieve and maintain his level of dominance, he has to be exceptional at all levels of MMA, both offensively and defensively.

Right now, there are only a handful of MMA fighters that are on a true elite level. I am talking about fighters who can win by knockout, who can take the fight to the ground at will and can submit their opponent in the blink of an eye. There's Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre.

GSP, along with the aforementioned champions are ahead of their time. They are what the next generation of fighter will look like. They are great at all disciplines, are difficult to defeat and can win a bout at any given point in time. They can out box their opponent, they have exceptional takedown defence and if they choose, will take their opponent down to finish the fight with some ground and pound or a submission. They are the gold standard and are the living blueprint of what will be in years to come.

2008 may have been the year of GSP, but in 2009, he may just take it to a whole other level. Should GSP go undefeated in 2009, he will reach superstar status greater than what Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture did in their careers. On tap for GSP right now is a super-fight with BJ Penn in January, followed by a mandatory title defence against #1 contender Thiago Alves and then the unbelievable. Should he go undefeated against the latter, UFC President Dana White has publicly stated that a super-fight with Anderson Silva would follow suit.

If the stars align and this super-fight between GSP and Silva were to actually take place, and should Georges be victorious in that bout, I cannot begin to imagine how monstrous his worth would actually be to the UFC marketing machine. Add to all of this the fact that he has signed on with the CAA Talent Agency and we may not only see a repeat next year, but a true pop icon born in 2009.

Taken from: Sportsnet.ca